The Senate will not vote before Christmas on additional aid for Ukraine, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Dec. 19.
Mr. Schumer, who held the Senate in session this week to work on the supplemental aid deal and other matters, was nevertheless optimistic that a deal would soon be reached.
“We know it’s going to take more time. But I am significantly more optimistic today than I was Thursday ... based on the negotiations that have occurred all weekend,” Mr. Schumer told reporters.
Senators from both parties have said providing additional support for Ukraine and other U.S. allies is vital, as is passing immigration reform, which Republicans have insisted upon as a condition for doing so.
Commenting on the aggressive behavior of other nations posing a threat to world order, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, “This [supplemental aid] package is extremely important. The most complicated part of it actually is the border. I think we haven’t passed a significant immigration bill since Reagan’s second term. And so this is not easy. But we’re working hard to get an outcome because the country needs it.”
“There will be no deal before Christmas, that’s for darn sure,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told The Epoch Times.
“Thankfully, we have some individuals that have really been working hard to try to figure out [this] really hard problem.”
Negotiators on the deal include Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and both Senate party leaders. Recently, the negotiations have also included White House representatives and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Just 67 senators were present and voting on Dec. 19, perhaps signaling their lack of confidence that a deal would be reached despite negotiators working during their scheduled recess.
Border Security for Ukraine Aid
The $106 billion supplemental aid package was requested by President Joe Biden and includes $45 billion in military aid for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, $13.6 billion for U.S. border security, and $10 billion for humanitarian aid for Israel, Ukraine, Gaza, and refugees entering the United States.Negotiations in the Senate have been slow but appear to be gaining momentum as representatives of the Biden administration have joined the effort. Republican senators have seen the president’s involvement as crucial for spurring their Democrat colleagues to action.
“The Biden administration has finally, as of last week, engaged [in negotiations],” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on Dec. 19. “I’m hoping that we continue to see progress there.”
That indicates that a deal is in the offing, according to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
“The fact that the White House is now engaged and has been for the last several days indicates to me we’re likely to have an agreement in principle by Friday,” Mr. Wicker told The Epoch Times, though drafting the bill itself would be a lengthy process.
“I see a deal being reached when President Biden decides what he wants to do, if anything, to try to control the border,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told The Epoch Times. “It is clear to me at this juncture that my Democratic colleagues are not going to vote for any changes at the border without President Biden telling them to, which gives them cover.”
Illegal entries to the United States have skyrocketed since 2021, according to data provided by Mr. Thune, who said that 12,381 people entered the country illegally on Dec. 18.
Current projections estimate that over 3 million illegal immigrants will enter the country in 2024.
In October, U.S. agents apprehended some 240,000 illegal immigrants, including 1,569 criminals, 93 people having arrest warrants, 50 gang members, and 12 people on the nation’s terrorist watch list.
Senators React
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said the pairing of the two issues is not unreasonable.“We need to deliver this kind of very critical aid to our allies, Ukraine, Israel, and [others],” Mr. Fetterman told The Epoch Times.
He added that “it’s not ideal to have this conversation now, but... it’s a reasonable conversation. And I really hope we’re successful.”
Mr. Vance, who opposes ongoing aid to Ukraine, said fellow Ukraine skeptics might consider supporting the supplemental package if the border security provisions were convincing.
“I think a lot depends on the border details,” Mr. Vance told reporters. “It’s very hard to say, in the abstract, what my Republican colleagues would go along with. We need to see the real details. I think that a lot of them would trade immigration, with real changes in border security, for more funding for Ukraine.”
Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, wrote to congressional leaders on Dec. 4, warning that existing U.S. resources available to send to Ukraine would soon be exhausted.
However, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Dec. 18 that the administration had enough remaining funds to send one more package of arms to Ukraine.
After that, further aid for Ukraine will require congressional action.
Mr. Kirby did not elaborate on what the aid package would include. The last aid package, announced on Dec. 6, included up to $175 million in air defense munitions, additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rockets Systems, artillery ammunition, High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles, anti-armor missiles, small arms ammunition, demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing, equipment to protect critical national infrastructure, and spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.
